Audioquest Dragon Source AC Power Cable

Alternating Current (AC), is a far-from-perfect power source. AC power technology is well over a century old and was never designed to meet the exacting standards of today’s high resolution audio-video components. AC noise is present at the utility source, and is then exacerbated by radio frequency noise that is induced (picked up by the AC power cord) and coupled to the component power supplies and to circuit ground. This creates distortion and low-level signal losses via the “masking effect.” Further, power amplifiers can require immense reserves of transient current for their power supplies to react to and then stabilize during dynamic audio passages. Most AC power cords and power conditioner-regenerators, though helpful to a point, are simply not up to the task. Note: Audioquest Dragon/Source AC power cable is not appropriate for use with AC power conditioners, power regenarators, AC isolation transformers, AC battery back-up devices, as well as any power amplifier, powered sub-woofer, powered loudspeaker, powered receiver, or integrated amplifier (whether tube, solid state or digital switching). These products will require greater RMS and transient current capacity. In extreme instances, they could suffer diminished performance and/or present an electrical danger by exceeding the Audioquest Dragon/Source AC power cable’s maximum current capacity. For those applications, we highly recommend selecting the Audioquest’s Dragon/High-Current AC power cable

Audioquest Dragon Source - Available in 15 & 20A

Power amplifiers present a real challenge for any AC power source, as the transient current requirements (though short in duration) can be many times that of the average (RMS) current consumption. Power amplifiers are also unique from all other components in that the current draw is dynamic, not constant, and it changes with volume and audio signal content. Though many AC power cords may feature low DC resistance to allow for some of this requirement, the characteristic impedance of the AC cable is equally responsible for assuring uncompromised performance. Many premium AC cords constrict or compress the audio transient as their characteristic impedance restricts the transient current.

Dielectric-Bias System with Radio Frequency Trap - All insulation between two or more conductors is also a dielectric whose properties will affect the integrity of the signal. When the dielectric is unbiased, dielectric-involvement (absorption and non-linear release of energy) causes different amounts of time delay (phase shift) for different frequencies and energy levels, which is a real problem for very time-sensitive multi-octave audio. The inclusion of an RF Trap (developed for Audioquest’s Niagara Series of power products), ensures that radio frequency noise will not be induced into the signal conductors from the DBS field elements (DBS, US Pat #s 7,126,055 & 7,872,195 B1)

Directionality - All drawn metal strands or conductors have a non-symmetrical, and therefore directional, grain structure. Audioquest controls the resulting RF impedance variation so that noise is drained away from where it will cause distortion. The correct direction is determined by listening to every batch of metal conductors used in every Audioquest audio cable. Arrows are clearly marked on the connectors to ensure superior sound quality